Database Admins: Almost a Third Consider Career Change

Database administrators (DBAs) are facing increasing pressure in their jobs, according to a study by software provider SolarWinds. The survey found that almost one in three, or 30 percent, are considering a career change. SolarWinds points to a significant discrepancy between how management perceives the role and the reality for DBAs, as well as an increase in burnout.

The role of a DBA in companies has become both more important and more complex due to diverse databases, multi-environment systems, and rising data protection requirements, according to SolarWinds. While 81 percent of DBAs manage Oracle and SQL servers, this represents only part of the overall picture. An entire ecosystem of different data technologies has emerged to enable analytics, AI, and other modern applications. Additionally, DBAs monitor deployment environments, with 57 percent on-premises, 31 percent in public cloud, and 12 percent in private cloud.

Overall, the daily work of DBAs is dominated by "firefighting," meaning reactive problem-solving, according to the survey. On average, they reportedly spend 27 out of their 40 working hours per week on reactive tasks, leaving little time for strategic initiatives. Furthermore, 75 percent of respondents indicated that alert fatigue impairs their ability to prioritize and respond appropriately to incidents. Of these, 49 percent described the impact as "massive" or "severe."

AI Tools: Relief and Additional Burden

The use of AI can partially assist with database administration. For instance, approximately 62 percent of DBAs who are willing to use AI tools reported that AI has helped them diagnose performance issues faster. Sixty percent reported more reliable and consistent execution of routine tasks, and 54 percent noted less time spent on manual or repetitive tasks.

However, the flip side of AI adoption involves challenges such as additional monitoring tasks, lack of alignment of AI workflows with daily processes, difficulties in usage due to poor data quality, and a lack of data governance and clear responsibilities. SolarWinds notes that DBAs reported problems with AI implementation more frequently than the surveyed executives.

"The data in this report reveals a reality where the DBA role is becoming increasingly difficult due to the complexity of enterprise IT architectures in companies, further exacerbated by an ongoing gap between the perspectives of DBAs and IT executives," summarizes Kevin Kline, a database expert at SolarWinds, the survey results. For the 2025 State of Database Report, 1,000 IT experts were surveyed, including 500 executives and over 500 DBAs. SolarWinds itself made headlines a few years ago due to attacks via its Orion network software making infamous headlines..

(axk)